Bob Apollo
Bob Apollo
Bob Apollo is the CEO of UK-based Inflexion-Point Strategy Partners, the B2B sales performance improvement specialists. Following a varied corporate career, Bob now works with a rapidly expanding client base of B2B-focused growth-phase technology companies, helping them to implement systematic sales processes that drive predictable revenue growth.
After 20 Years: 3 Reasons Why the Chasm is Closer than it used to be
Like most high-tech marketers, I found Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm" essential reading. His concept of the gap that exists between Early Adopters and...
If You Haven’t Chosen the Game, You Need to Change the Rules
Have you ever stumbled over a sales opportunity late in the day, after your prospect had already consulted with one or more of your...
Research Shows That Growing Companies Adopt Cloud Computing Faster
Recent research by MarketBridge confirms that migration to the "Cloud" is accelerating - and that some fascinating patterns are emerging about the people and...
Lessons Learned: E-Marketing and the Death of B2B Exhibitions
If you take all the research you read at face value, you might think that e-Marketing was hastening the death of exhibitions. Most of...
5 Reasons Why Sales Process Trumps Sales Heroics
Most companies, at some stage in their early lives, while they are struggling for validation and desperate for revenue, have good reason to be...
5 Ways You Can Still Lose a Sale After You’ve Been Selected
As any of you who have ever carried a quota know only too well, getting to the apparent end of a long sales cycle...
B2B Sales: If You’re Going to Lose, You Had Better Lose Early…
There are few things more dispiriting than investing months of effort in a long and complex sales campaign and then coming second to a...
SaaS Blows Storm Clouds over the Channel
It's been obvious for a while to anyone involved in developing or reselling B2B software that the move to SaaS is having a profound...
5 Ways to Make Your B2B Sales Conversations More Valuable
There's no doubt that the internet, Web 2.0 and business social networks are having a dramatic impact on B2B buying behaviour. Buyers can discover...
5 Things You Should Already be Doing to Achieve Your Q1 Sales Targets
We're now half way through Q1 - the period that sets the scene for your sales performance for the rest of the year. Stumble...
Why Nokia Fell From Grace
My first few mobile phones were all made by Nokia. They earned my brand loyalty with devices that performed well and - in stark...
The Devil is in the Data: How Better Data Drives Greater B2B Sales
I've touched on the importance of data quality before - even made it one of my three recommended New Year's resolutions - but I...
Never Mind the Competition – Worry about Your Prospect’s Other Options
According to some of the latest research published by CSO Insights and others, an increasingly common outcome for forecasted sales opportunities is neither a...
Forrester Confirms Continuing B2B Sales and Marketing Alignment Gap
Forrester's latest research "B2B Sales and Marketing Alignment Starts with the Customer" confirms the dysfunctional and damaging gap that still exists between sales and...
Goldman Sachs is Predicting “Techtonic” Shifts in IT Marketplace
Goldman Sachs' latest IT Spending Survey and Software Market Analysis reveals a number of "Techtonic shifts" in technology and business models, as a result...
Identifying Ideal Prospects Boosts Sales Win Rates by 20%
The always-excellent CSO Insights are soon to release the results of their annual 2011 sales performance optimisation report. The full report is due to...
What Stops Promising Companies from Building Scalable Businesses?
Momentum. We know it when we see it, don't we? It's the force that propels successful companies to sustainable revenue and market share growth....
It’s Best Not to Confuse Activity with Progress
Over the past few weeks, I've been exposed to a number of situations where companies - or the managers that represent them - appear...
Training Won’t Solve Your Sales Performance Problem
Gyms and Sales Training Companies both seem to benefit from New Year's Resolutions. But just as signing up for gym membership won't do you...
The Sale Isn’t Over When You Book the Order
We all know how challenging it can be to win new business. Gaining a new customer's commitment is justifiable cause for celebration. But you...